This invention relates to semiconductor devices and in particular to a package including wire-bonded semiconductor chips.
In the packaging of semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) chips, a dual-in-line (DIP) package is commonly employed. In such packages, the chip is mounted on a metal plate of a lead frame and the pads on the chip are electrically interconnected to the metal fingers of the lead frame by wire bonds. The chip is then encapsulated in a plastic material and the leads separated from the lead frame to form the discrete package.
Although such packages are generally adequate, a persistent yield and reliability problem has resulted from the tendency of the wire bonds to break due to stresses from the plastic encapsulant's expansion and contraction during temperature variations.
It is therefore a primary objective of the invention to provide a semiconductor chip package with improved mechanical reliability.